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Cognitive-Behavioral Models of Emotional Writing: A Validation Study

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Abstract

Previous research suggests that the Pennebaker writing paradigm may improve physical and psychological health; however, inconsistent findings suggest that it may not be suitable for community dissemination in its current format. This study manipulated writing instructions across groups in order to emphasise putative emotional processes. Three processes were isolated consistent with Cognitive-Behavioral models of trauma: exposure, devaluation, and benefit-finding. Essay content reports, text analysis, distress, arousal, and physiological data demonstrated that participants assigned to different writing instructions responded during and after the writing session in a manner that was consistent with the putative emotion process. The results highlight the potential for the writing paradigm as a research tool for emotional processing.

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Notes

  1. These researchers use the term between-session habituation to reflect a decrease in anxiety (SUDS and physiological arousal) from the first exposure session to the last).

  2. Instructions are available from the first author upon request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Penelope Davis, John O’Gorman, Michelle Moulds, Stefanie Sharman, James Pennebaker, and Graham Davey for advice and testing materials. This Research partially supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Grants.

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  1. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 2052

    Adam J. Guastella & Mark R. Dadds

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  1. Adam J. Guastella
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  2. Mark R. Dadds
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Correspondence to Adam J. Guastella.

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Guastella, A.J., Dadds, M.R. Cognitive-Behavioral Models of Emotional Writing: A Validation Study. Cogn Ther Res 30, 397–414 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9045-6

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